Estate Planning and Asset Preservation

While nobody wants to think about disability or death, establishing an estate plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones, financially and otherwise. Proper estate planning not only puts you in charge of your property, it can spare your loved ones a lot of expense, delay, and frustration associated with managing your affairs when you pass away or become disabled.

We assist clients in planning their estate to ensure that the proper foundation is in place. A comprehensive estate plan will include Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Powers of Attorney, and Living Wills (also known as advance directives). It may also include any necessary trust planning.

Asset Preservation

As our society becomes increasingly inclined to disputes, more hazards to the long-term preservation of wealth exist. Among other social realities, the high incidence of divorce and the ever-expanding theories of liability have increased financial risk for individuals, families and businesses. To protect your assets from such disaster, proper risk management strategies should be given careful consideration. These strategies include exempting your assets from the claims of creditors, limiting your liability through legal entities, and transferring your risk through insurance.

The Firm is experienced in helping clients navigate financial risks by planning the access, control, management and ownership of individual, family and business assets to preserve the value of our clients’ assets and diminish the risk of creditor claims.

An asset preservation plan includes one or more lawful transfers of assets, the creation of entities or other structures to hold assets and implemented for business and estate planning purposes. This preservation plan reduces the ability of unforeseen future creditors to reach transferred assets. Further, the use of trusts as a part of estate planning can protect assets inherited by family members for future generations.

The attorneys at Wilson Ratledge are experienced in all aspects of estate planning and regularly assist clients in putting the plan together that is best for their specific situation.